IDSUMMER 1 RIP 

TO Nicaragua 



»^ JOHN S. KENDALL 






v.t, Orleans La 

I o n V 



A Midsummer Trip 
TO Nicaragua 




»^ JOHN S. KENDALL 



g TRADES [ |^li'j,^]j cqUNCIL g 



J^etv Orleanjt, La. 
TICAyjJJ^B JO'S VRIMT 
1905 



In Excliange, 
JBaward Mem. Lib. 
13 b m 




A Midsummer Trip to Nicaragua. 



Notes of a Voyage from New Orleans to Bluefields. Picturesque Places 
Where the Tourist Finds Much to Enjoy. 



Great Enterprises Under Way at Cape Gracias a Dios. Bluefields One of 

the Coolest, Healthiest and Most Delightful Towns 

in Central America. 



M 



_HE recent development of the 
fruit trade between New Or- 
leans and Central America 
has led to the addition to 
the Blueflel.ds Steamship Com- 
pany's fleet of a number of 
handsomely equipped steam- 
ers, adapted to the needs of 
a rapidly expanding passenger busi- 
ness. Of these splendid ships tl"ie_C.p- 
riiLta.ii,nd. the Bluefields, are admira- 
ble types. Thbug-h built and owned in 
Norway, they are designed express- 
ly for ^service between New Orleans 
and Nicaragua, and embody all the 
best features of modern marine 
architecture. The Bluefields, for ex- 
ample, is a steel ship 224 feet long, 
of J.COl tor.s l.nuden, and is capable 
of making a speed of eleven knots 
per hour under ordinary circum- 
stances. She has facilities for the 
safe and convenient transportation 
of 27,000 bunches of bananas, a 
cargo which can be considerably 
augmented whenever the necessity 
arises. There are accommodations 
for nineteen first-class passengers. 
Most of the staterooms are located 
on the main deck, opening into a 
large and well-ventilated dining sa- 
loon. They are fittc^d with all the 
conveniences ordinarily found on a 
transatlantic liner. The saloon is 
beautiful in white enameled wood- 
work and upholstered in "art nou- 
veau" velvet, and is one of the most 
attractive places in the whole vessel. 
On the deck above are a smoking- 
room for men and a parlor for la- 
dies, both apartments elaborately fin- 
ished in mahogany and upholstered, 
the one in leatlier, the other in vel- 
vet. The ample deckroom permits 
the traveler to enjoy the delicious 
coolness of the ocean breezes, and 
everywhere are found comfortable 
steamer chairs in which to lie at 



ease. The Bluefields is equipped witli 
all the newest devices to promote 
safety and comfort, including the 
supplemental keels, which reduce the 
rolling of the vessel at sea. Most 
people are liable to seasickness, and 
it must always be the best of rec- 
ommendations for a passenger ship 
to say that she is "steady as a 
house," a verdict which one has no 
hesitation in rendering in favor cf 
the Bluefields after an experience 
which, like mine, extended over near- 
ly fifteen days of travel and in- 
cluded just enough bad weather to 
adequately test the good ship's merit 
in tliis important regard. 

It was our good fortune to make 
the trip from New Orleans to Blue- 
fields on the fifth voyage of this 
splendid ship. We left New Orleans 
on July 15 and were safely back 
home again on Aug. 1. Ordinarily 
the vessels of the Bluefields Steam- 
ship Company make the trip in 
five or six days, the longer schedule 
including one day at Cape Gracias 
a Dios. At present there are no 
stops on the return trip, which is 
thus made in better time in order to 
avert any danger that might other- 
wise threaten the precious cargo of 
fruit neatly stored away 'tween 
decks. Thus the passenger gets from 
eleven to twelve days at sea, wliere 
he can inhale the salty and invig- 
orating sea air, and enjoy the de- 
licious idleness nowhere else obtain- 
able in this wlioie busy world ex- 
cept on board ship. We left New- 
Orleans about 11 o'clock in the morn- 
ing, a gratifying circumstance, inas- 
much as it brought us to the bar at 
the mouth of the river just at sun- 
set. The trip down the river was 
full of interest. On either hand the 
verdant shore unrolled itself in a 
long panorama of green and fertile 
fields, interrupted hero and there by 
the tall chimney of a sugar refinery 



or the clustered roofs of a little 
village. At length we passed 

through the jetties and emerged upon 
the tranquil Gulf in the full glory 
of a matchless Louisiana sunset. As 
the coast line faded from view we 
found ourselves floating upon a sea 
bathed in the golden radiance of the 
declining day, every tiny wave gilded 
with the light of the setting sun. In 
the immense solemnity of the place 
and hour the reverberation of the 
good ship's screw made a sort of 
restful murmur that fitted into the 
poetry of the scene, and prepared 
us as by some subtle magic for the 
vast peace and solitude of days and 
days when we would not see any 
trace of land or of man's handiwork 
butside of our own stalwart ship. 

Our commander. Captain Hansen, 
proved himself a valuable addition to 
the merry party that assembled three 
times a day around the bountifully 
served dining tables of the Blue- 
fields. A Norwegian by birth and by 
nationality, he has a good knowledge 
of the English tongue, and an ex- 
perience of the sea which dates back 
to his early boyhood. For many years 
he has traded along the West Indian 
and the Central American coasts, and 
his knowledge of the local conditions 
in each of the many countries to 
which his vocation has called him 
at one time or another is as thorough 
as his command of his profession. 
Moreover, he is a well-read man, 
with a large fund of humor, and the 
unfailing cheerfulness that seems the 
attribute of all navigators in Central 
American waters. Captain Hansen 
was only temporarily in charge of 
the Bluefields, replacing Captain Hal- 
vorsen during the latter's illness In 
New Orleans; but having served some 
time as second in command on the 
ship, he brought adequate experience 
to the post, and acquitted himself 
very gracefully of a difficult and deli- 
cate task, 

A congenial group of passengers 
made the voyage extremely pleasant. 
In the party were two young New 
Orleans men, who are now perma- 
nently identified with Nicaragua, and 
who laave made more than ordinary 
success by dint of great personal 
capacity and extremely hard work. 
Mr. A. V. Beer, of the New Orleans 
and Central American Trading Com- 
pany, proved to be a most interesting 
man. At the age of 27 he shares with 
his brother the active management 
of a very large and important gen- 
eral supply business, the headquar- 
ters of which are established in Blue- 
fields, but the ramifications of which 
cover the adjacent coast very thor- 
ouglily. About ten years ago Mr, Beer 
went to Bluefields to join his father, 
whose energy and enterprise brought 
the business into being twenty-two 



years ago, and under the paternal 
eye he was trained in every detail of 
the trade, from the hard work of the 
warehouse to the scarcely less onerous 
routine of the office and the counter. 
Every year he returned to the city 
to continue his studies at Tulane 
University, of which he is an 
alumnus, but after his graduation, 
three or four years ago, he cast liis 
lot definitely in Nicaragua, where he 
is widely known and generally re- 
spected. The dogged courage and the 
splendid patience which make such a 
career possible are worthy of admira- 
tion, and indicate just the qualities 
that are requisite for success in Cen- 
tral America, where, wliile oppor- 
tunities are abundant, ability and in- 
dustry, honesty and sobriety, are es- 
sential to turn them to account. 

Mr. Rene J. La Villebeuvre, another 
member of the party, was returning 
to his home in Managua, after a 
brief visit to the United States. Mr. 
La Villebeuvre came to Nicaragua 
nine years ago and found employ- 
ment first in Bluefields, then in the 
mines on the upper courses of the 
Wanks River. He made an excellent 
reputation in both places, and won 
for himself an enviable circle of 
warm friends. Subsequently becoming 
connected with the Central Ameri- 
can Commercial Company, a gigantic 
corporation which controls a large 
part of tlae public utilities of Nica- 
ragua, he was placed in charge of 
the electric light plant in Managua, 
where he has since remained. Mr. La 
Villebeuvre is a practical electrician, 
with five years' experience in the 
shops in New Orleans. This knowl- 
edge of the business has stood him 
in good stead in a position the diffi- 
culties of which cannot well be 
imagined by people to whom the 
electric light is the commonplace of 
every day existence. Mr. La Ville- 
beuvre is a careful, painstaking, 
conscientious man, highly esteemed 
by the Government officials In Nica- 
ragua, where his sterling qualities 
are warmly appreciated. 

One of the pleasant features of the 
voyage from New Orleans to Blue- 
fields is the fact that there are many 
small interruptions in the long mo- 
notony of sea and sky. The Gulf of 
Mexico is one of the busiest of the 
great marine subdivisions, and near- 
ly every day reveals somewhere 
along the horizon line the smoke of 
a ,far-off steamer or the tapering 
spars and snowy sails of a full-rigged 
vessel. On the evening of the sec- 
ond day out w^e passed the w^estern 
end of Cuba, known as Cape San An- 
tonio — a low-lying point of land, dot- 
ted with straggling palm trees and 
terminating in a tall white light- 
house. Twenty-four hours later the 
Bluefields passed within a mile of 



i 




■)*• ' 'r'k,yyjS^ii"„//jSf//, 



Swan Island, a tiny little speck of 
land lying, like a derelict, in mid- 
ocean, yet with a population of 
twenty-five or thirty souls. For- 
merly Swan Island was the scene of 
considerable activity, but the guano 
deposits are not now being worked, 
and the only traffic is in cocoanuts. 
The island is the property of a Bos- 
ton company, and really, if not legal- 
ly, is an outpost of the United States, 
the flag of which nation the island- 
ers proudly display whenever a ves- 
sel passes near. We did not get much 
of a chance to view the place, but 
from the distance it seemed very 
beautiful, thickly set with lofty 
trees and washed by green water 
and sparkling surf. 

A little after daybreak on Wednes- 
day morning the Bluefields found 
herself approaching Cape Gracias a 
Dios, the fOrest-clad promontory 
where the Wanks River pours its 
muddy waters into the Carribean and 
divides Honduras from Nicaragua. 
Cape Gracias owes its name to Co- 
lumbus, who stopped here on his way 
northward toward Truxillo, on one 
of his latter voyages. Up to within 
a few months the steamers vs^hich 
called at the cape anchored off the 
little town which bears the same 
name, situated at the former mouth 
of the Wanks River, five miles from 
its present mouth. Fifty years ago 
the town was of considerable size, 
and the harbor so deep and spacious 
that the ships of many nations and 
of any draught found convenient an- 
chorage close inshore. The Wanks, 
however, proved treacherous. The 
silt it brought down from the interior 
gradually filled the harbor and drove 
the sliipping to anchorages further 
and further from shore, so that to- 
day there is hardly water enough to 
float a small sailboat where formerly 
men-of-war were accustomed to 
ride. Early in the present year the 
port of entry was transferred to the 
town of Port Dietrick, -which is 
in course of construction at the new 
mouth of the Wanks, and this change 
practically completed the ruin of the 
older settlement. With the Govern- 
ment offices went almost all the 
white population', so that the resi- 
dents of Gracias nowadays are In- 
dians only, and do not number more 
than a few hundreds. 

Port Dietrick. in spite of its ex- 
cessive newness, is one of the most 
interesting places in Central Amer- 
ica. For one thing, it is an Amer- 
ican enterprise, named after an 
American, and largely built, or build- 
ing, with American money. An en- 
terprising American, who is said to 
be backed by Senator Clark, of Mon- 
tana, and other wealthy men, has se- 
cured a concession for the exploita- 
tion of several enterprises in north- 
eastern Nicaragua, including mines, 
cattle, etc. In part payment for his 



extensive privileges he is under ob- 
ligation to improve the navigatioii of 
the "Wanks River, a tortuous and 
turbulent stream, broken by numer- 
ous waterfalls and obstructed by 
mighty rocks. But the Wanks leads 
to the rich gold mines of the in- 
terior, and is one of the chief routes 
by which provisions are conveyed 
thither and the bullion shipped dov/n 
to the sea. There are, then, good 
reasons why a town should exist at 
the mouth of this picturesque stream. 
Port Dietrick has already a popula- 
tion of 400, of whom twenty are 
Americans. The Government has 
erected a commodious custom-house; 
a hotel to cost $40,000 is now near- 
ing completion, and a channel is to 
be excavated from the present an- 
chorage in such a way that vessels 
will be able to lie practically along- 
side the custom-house vs^liarf. Pend- 
ing the completion of the last-men- 
tioned improvement, the Bluefields 
was obliged to anchor about a mile 
from the shore, but in a sheltered po- 
sition. The natives, in "dories," as 
their long, narrow boats, hewn out of 
single mahogany logs, are termed, 
received the freight in their little 
vessels and conveyed it safely ashore. 

Port Dietrick is, in fact, a noted 
center of the Indian population of the 
northern part of the Mosquito Terri- 
tory. The Indians are a most inter- 
esting race. They make their homes 
along the rivers in the interior, but 
as their livelihood is earned by work- 
ing along the coasts they have many 
temporary settlements there, one 
of which is included in the 
town of Port Dietrick. They 

have the reputation of being 
incurable petty thieves, and we 
were cautioned to keep the ports in 
our staterooms closed while the 
Bluefields lay in harbor, lest they 
should secure admission by these 
openings and rifle our property. It 
appears, however, that they are dis- 
honest only with respect to trifles. 
The theft of large articles or of im- 
portant sums of money is very rare. 
The Indians who came under our ob- 
servation during our brief stay at the 
Cape vsrere evidently of mixed race; 
and, in fact, the Jamaican negroes 
and the so-called Caribs are found 
scattered along the coast, working 
alongside of the natives, and prob- 
ably affiliating with them socially. 
The Caribs are of somewhat superior 
mental abilities, inasmuch as many 
of the Indian boat crews are found "' 
under the leadership of one of these 
coal-black individuals. As boatmen, 
the Caribs and the Indians are won- 
derfully expert. Among the dories 
which flocked around the Bluefields 
■were many in which twelve or four- 
teen men found room, one to steer at 
each end, and the rest to paddle, and 
so skillful were they all that even 
when their little vessel was laden al- 



-7— 



most to the water's edge they navi- 
gated it successfully to land in spite 
of the mighty surge of the Caribbean 
perpetually rolling upon the bar. Al- 
most amphibious by habit, these in- 
trepid boatmen venture out in almost 
all weathers, inviting risks which 
would appal other people. 

One amusing peculiarity exhibited 
by our Indian visitors was a method 
of cutting the hair which left a sort 
of thick thatch upon the top of the 
skull, but denuded the lower portion 
of the head of its legitimate adorn- 
ment. This is accomplished by plac- 
ing a gourd upon the victim's head 
and trimming away all the hair which 
projects below its somewhat re- 
stricted margins. Some of the natives 
had the further peculiarity — not un- 
common, it appears, but quite devoid 
of offense — of a mild leprosy, which 
mottles the dusky skin with curious 
patches of white. This disease is 
strictly hereditary, and does not 
seem to cause the sufferer either pain 
or inconvenience; nevertheless, its 
effect upon the cuticle is abnormal 
and unattractive. 

The Bluefields carried quite a 
quantity of lumber and machinery for 
^Port Dietrick. We did not take any 
cargo from the place, though I un- 
derstand considerable quantities of 
timber and cattle are exported an- 
nually, in addition to the gold of the 
interior. Among our passengers was 
a Mr. Duran, a Cuban cattle dealer, 
who left us at Port Dietrick to com- 
plete arrangements for a shipment 
of beeves, a sort of experimental 
transaction, which, if successful, will 
no doubt initiate a profitable busi- 
ness. There appears to be a demand 
for the Nicaraguan cattle to be fat- 
j tened in the rich pastures of Pinar 
' del Rio and eventually consigned to 
Hhe abattoirs in Havana. All of this, 
however, is a matter of the future. 
Port Dietrick is not more tlian seven 
, months old, and there is much to do 
tliere yet before a large city is called 
into existence, with its attendant 
commercial and mercantile enter- 
prises. 

It is only a matter of twenty-four 
hours from Port Dietrick to Blue- 
fields. On Friday morning we found 
our good ship steaming into a superb 
lagoon, following a channel that 
wound in and around a succession of 
tliickly-wooded keys, and finally 
brought us safely to anchor under the 
shadow of a. bold headland known as 
The Bluff. The Bluff is seven miles 
distant from Bluefields, the roofs of 
which were distinguishable, glimmer- 
ing in the morning sunshine, across 
the lagoon. It is, however, flie point 
at w^hich the commerce of the port is 
done. At the foot of the bluff an 
extensive wharf roofed -with corru- 
gated iron is provided for the recep- 
tion and storage of freight. Ships of 
a certain draught can lie directly be- 



side the wharf; but the Bluefields 
drew more than the available depth 
of water, and it was necessary for us 
to take passage in a sort of ferry- 
boat which transferred us thither in 
order to undergo the scrutiny of the J 
Custom-house officials. These gen- 
tlemen are reputed locally to be very 
searching in their examinations, but 
I must say that the inquisition, inso- 
far as our baggage was concerned, 
was accomplished with the minimum 
of inconvenience. This important 
matter attended to, we were directed 
back to our ferry-boat, which, in the 
course of an hour, delivered us at the 
wharf in Bluefields. 

Bluefields, as I shall have occasion 
to point out more in detail in a sub- 
sequent letter, is a flourishing little 

■town built of American lumber and 
corrugated iron. The lagoon of Blue-, 
fields is sheltered from the fury of 
storms, taut open to the breezes of 
the ocean, facts which, conjoined witii 
the heavy rainfall- and excellent 
natural drainage, make it one of the 
coolest and healthiest places on the 
Central American coast. Prom the 
harbor the town presents an ani- 
mated and attractive appearance. The j 
ground rises from the water's edge 
in a series of gentle elevations, cul- 
minating within a mile or two in the; 
heavy forests which clothe all the 
interior of Nicaragua. Along the hill- 
side the streets of the little city are 
arranged in a picturesque way, with 
the vivid green of bread-fruit trees, 
palms and almonds to relieve the 
gray uniformity of metal roofs. With- 
out doubt Bluefields is destined to be 
one of the greatest ports in Central 

America. A time will also come when 
its charm and beauty will attract 
scores of travelers, w^here one now- 
adays finds his ^vay to its hospitable 
doors. The delicious purity of the 
atmosphere, the intense azure of its 
skies, the invigorating trade winds 
which blow perpetually, are all ele- 
ments which render a visit to tlio 
little city a matter of genuine pleas- 
ure. Now that the enterprise of the 
Bluefields Steamship Company has 
provided the facilities for reaching 
the place in comfort and even in 
luxury, the tide of travel must in- 
evitably set thither in constantly 
augmenting volume. 



— II. 

BLUEPIELDS, Republic of Nic- 
aragua, Aug. 12. — Tlae long 
stretch of rocky coast which 
borders the Caribbean, from 
Panama to Cape Gracias a 
Dios, and which, under the 
name of the Spanish Main, 
figures prominently in the early 
history of the continent, is not 
now the great center of maritime 
enterprise which it once was. Colum- 
bus, adventuring northward along an 




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"2 

3 



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be:. 

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unknown shore as far as the cape, 
set an example which was followed 
by Morgan, Drake and Nelson, by 
Walker and Gregg, and by many an- 
other valiant sailor and soldier be- 
side. There exist few memorials of 
Columbus or Drake now; Morgan is 
scarcely a name; but some of Nel- 
son's rusty cannon have been dis- 
covered on the Nicaraguan coast and 
Walker's incursion is still fresh in 
the minds of the people he once 
ruled. A hundred years ago when 
Spain was mistress of Latin America, 
a lucrative commerce existed in tlie 
precious metals; fleets of treasure- 
ships gathered at Panama to bear 
home the ingots collected from Costa 
Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras, and 
the cheerful pirates from Tortuga, 
Old Providence and a dozen other 



naturally converges towards it, while 
the banana plantations along the Bs- 
condido River, which discharges into 
the Bluefields lagoon a few miles 
from the town, invite American en- 
terprise and capital. There is prob- 
ably no place in Latin America, nortli 
of Panama, which offers more op- 
portunities for investment. The mines 
are not far distant, the vast mahog- 
any forests are now being opened up, 
every kind of agricultural, indus- 
trial and manufacturing enterprise 
can count on a fair chance of suc- 
cess. Blueflelds must also appeal to 
the tourist as the handsomest, most 
convenient and healthiest of the 
coast towns in Central America. The 
comfortable steamers which connect 
the town with New Orleans suggest 
the trip as an ideal way of spending 




Cutting Bananas on the Escondido River, Near Bluefields. 



near-by islands maintained an illegal 
navy, which subsisted upon the Catli- 
olic King's costly galleons. Now, a 
new civilization is developing tlie re- 
sources of the Spanish Main, and 
fleets are again gathering at Puerto 
Cortez, Cape Gracias, Blueflelds and 
Limon; but they are the peaceful 
vessels of the United Fruit Company, 
the Bluefields Steamship Company 
and other companies engaged in the 
banana business or the passenger 
trade, and if there are no pirates to- 
day to add romance to the voyage it 
is not without interest of its own. 

Bluefields, with the noblest harbor 
on the Spanish Main, is without 
doubt destined to be a great commer- 
cial city. Situated almost exactly in 
the center of the east coast of Nica- 
ragua, the trade from the interior 



a tw^o weeks' vacation. The notion 
that ii is hot in the summer time is 
erroneous. The temperature never 
rises above 88 degrees and never 
falls below 68. Bluefields faces the 
trade winds, which blow without 
ceasing. Sweeping across the wide 
waters of the sea, tliey bring to the 
land a delicious freshness and cool- 
ness, so that all the year round one 
may sit on the verandas with which 
every dwelling is provided and lux- 
uriate in the perfect comfort they 
provide. At night the temperature 
falls low enough to make a ll^t 
blanket a desirable covering. Rains 
fall nearly every day, except in the 
spring; in the wet season the show- 
ers occur several times a day, and 
occasionally two or three days of 
deluge cleanses the city and stlmu- 



—10- 



lates the already luxuriant vegeta- 
tion. 

The town is built upon the side of 
a low hill, back of which the land 
continues to rise in elevations of in- 
creasing' height till lost in the thick 
forest of the interior. The situation 
facilitates drainage, an important 
matter where the rainfall at tlie 
present season of the year may 
amount to six or seven inches a day. 
The architecture assimilates as near- 
ly as local conditions admit to the 
familiar American types. Instead of 
the tile and adobe of the typical 
Spanish town, Blueflelds favors 
American lumber and corrugated 
zinc. The blank walls, barred w^in- 
dows, flat roofs and flowering court- 
yards of the hinterland give place to 
irregular lines of tiny cottages, some 
of which are set in the midst of small 
gardens, and all of which are pic- 
turesquely placed against a back- 
ground of palm, mango and bread 
fruit trees. The clay found in the 
vicinity is unsuited for the manu- 
facture of brick or tile, and the for- 
eign element in the population ad- 
heres to the building methods with 
which it is familiar. But as duties 
are imposed according to weight, 
manifestly only the lighter kinds of 
material are imported, and the use 
of zinc for roofing in lieu of slate is 
thus accounted for. The result is by 
no means unpleasing. One is most 
impressed by the tiny size of the 
dwellings, in which two or three un- 
ceiled rooms suffice for the accom- 
modation of the average family. 
There are several large general 
stores, the owners of which occupy 
residences of some size and elegance, 
but the most sumptuous of them cost 
less than $4,500 to erect, and could 
be duplicated in Louisiana for half 
the money. A tiny cottage of two 
apartments costa $700 to build; the 
average dwelling rents for $25 per 
month or more, and there is a con- 
stant demand for property for both 
purposes. In fact, the buildings 
erected since the last fire, by which, 
about three years ago, nearly the 
whole town was consumed, are larger 
and handsomer than those they re- 
place 

Housekeeping in Blueflelds is not 
without its problems. Aside from the 
high rents, the absence of the usual 
sources of supplies compels the popu- 
lation to rely largely upon New Or- 
leans for food. There is an interest- 
ing market housed in a handsome 
frame building overlooking the 
lagoon, and a good grade of meat can 
be purchased there at about 18 cents 
per pound. But fruits and vegetables 
are not easily obtained. Eggs sell 
readily at 63 cents per dozen, but 
chickens do not thrive, and the sup- 
ply is not equal to the demand. The 
army ant is said to be particularly 
skilled in locating and consuming the 
newly-planted seeds, so that vegeta- 



ble gardens do not flourish to any 
extent. Bananas are cut green and 
sold to the Fruit Company for ex- 
port, so that one rarely sees them 
eaten in Bluefields. The tamarind, 
a nut with an acid but agreeable 
flavor; the zapote, a heart-shaped 
fruit with the flavor of baked sweet 
potatoes; the cocoanut, too common 
to be much valued; the guava, 
when in season, are a few of the 
native fruits which grow without 
cultivation. The bread fruit, which 
is much eaten, especially by the poor, 
is sliced and fried; only rarely do the 
natives allow it to become ripe 
enough to eat raw. Fish, oysters, 
crabs and turtle can be procured, 
when the boatmen develop enterprise 
enough to go after them, and furnish 
delicious eating. The natives cook 
fish with green bananas and eat the 
mixture with tortillas, a species of 
flapjack made of corn meal and roast- 
ed over the coals. But the main re- 
liance of all classes is' the American 
canned goods, which are imported in 
great quantities, and considering the 
freights, duties, etc., are sold at very 
reasonable prices. 

Of society as such, Blueflelds pos- 
sesses little or nothing. The Ameri- 
cans, as one of them happily phrased 
it, consider themselves exiles, and, 
therefore, bound to stand together. 
They visit among themselves, and 
the International Club, which occu- 
pies a large, low, two-storied build- 
ing on the principal street, has a 
membership of fifty, and is very 
popular. Here the foreigners assem- 
ble nearly every evening to enjoy 
the breezes on the spacious porch 
or to look over the books and papers 
with which the reading-room is pro- 
vided, or to play cards "for drinks." 
"For drinks" is permitted, but other 
stakes are illegal, infringing upon 
the gambling concession, a monop- 
oly which no one grudges its holder. 
Some beautiful examples of the spirit 
of brotherhood which links the 
Americans together in Blueflelds are 
known. Young men who have landed 
here penniless, hoping to win for- 
tune by "nerve" and luck, have been 
quietly cared for till they found em- 
ployment, often for five or six 
months at a time. They say that no 
young man who is able and willing 
to work has gone wrong through any 
lack of assistance and advice on the 
part of his compatriots in Bluefields. 
"We feel," said a well-known mer- 
chant to me, "that the prosperity and 
reputation of each individual white 
man is the prosperity and reputa- 
tion of all." 

There are occasional dances at the 
Club to provide entertainment. The 
visit of an American warship is al- 
ways an occasion for much dining 
and dancing. Sometimes Governor 
Estrada celebrates a birthday with 
a reception and concert at the Fed- 



f 



-11- 



eral building. But the chief social 
events of the week are the concerts 
on Thursday and Sunday evenings at 
the botanical" garden. Situated on 
the outskirts of the town, in front of 
a really handsome school for boys, 
the garden occupies an entire 
square, and ,is filled with a remark- 
able collection of shrubs. The hibis- . 
cus here grows to the dimensions of 
a large tree; there are bushes the 
leaves of which glow like a painter's 
palate; colias nriottled with crimson, 
gold and blue; cacti of unusual size 
and queer shapes; mimosas tall and 
stately, and hundreds of plants of 
name unknown, but of an Oriental 
gorgeousness of foliage. In the cen- 
ter, an iron kiosk offers a retreat to 
the military band, which plays with 
taste and feeling the waltzes and 
romances of ten years ago. A circle 
of white-washed benches accommo- 
dates the crowd — white and black — 
for here the color line is hardly 
drawn — all as gayly dressed as the 
sumptuous vegetation surrounding 
them. Some of the toilettes of the 
colored belles are remarkable. Sky- 
blue skirts, with green blouses, rich- 
ly trimmed ■with "white embroidery 
and cotton lace; purple skirts, with 
broad splashes of black velvet sewn 
haphazard upon thein; picture hats, 
with long ostrich plumes pointing 
straight out in every direction — 
these are some of the effects which 
may be noted in the course of a 
casual inspection. But the loudness 
of the ladies' apparel is the one ag- 
gressive feature of the entertain- 
ment, which really is far more dig- 
nified and enjoyable than a popular 
concert could possibly be in our own 
more boisterous country. 

Society of a kind, however, there 
is among the colored people. They, 
too, support a club, larger and richer 
than the International. But that is 
only for an el,ect hundred or so. Many 
of the Blueflelds blacks are employed 
as clerks in the stores, and are said 
to be faithful, competent, admirable 
penmen and good accountants. Others 
are in Government employ; many run 
little businesses of their own; a 
larger number find work on the 
docks, and the rest gain a livelihood 
by cutting bananas along the Escon- 
dido. The fruitships enlist a couple 
of hundred blacks at Bluefields, car- 
ry them to the scene of operations, 
and when the cargo is aboard con- 
vey them back to town. The nu- 
merous saloons garner no small part 
of their earnings. A very character- 
istic experience it is to see the col- 
ored population of Bluefields going 
to church on Sunday. The Moravian 
missionaries, who have for years la- 
bored with excellent results among 
the people of the coast, maintain a 
large establishment here, consisting 
of a handsome wooden church, a two- 
story dwelling where the dozen 



whites connected with the mission 
are lodged, and two stores that do a 
thriving business. There is a col- 
ored preacher, recently ordained, and 
nearly all the church members are 
negroes. They are -faithful attend- 
ents and always wear their best at 
the four or five services celebrated 
on Sunday, The men — such as can 
muster the garments — turn out in 
old dress suits, with straw hats and 
white gloves. The women belong 
to different church societies, and garb 
themselves a';cordingly. At a certain 
age they are admitted to the Daugh- 
ters of the King, and wear bright 
purple skirts and white shirt waists. 
When they are a little older they 
enter another organization, and wear 
white from head to foot. It is all 
very picturesque, and hot nearly so 
ridiculous as it may sound. In fact, 
the Bluefields negroes furnish much 
food for thought. They are clearly 
of a grade superior to our "corn 
field" darky, far more self-respect- 
ing, industrious and thrifty. - They 
furnish only a small part of the crim- 
inal class, which in Blueflelds is very 
small anyway. Drunkenness, small 
thefts, occasional fighting are the 
offenses of which they are oftenest 
guilty. The darker tragedies which 
stir the righteous indignation of the 
Southerners against the negro rare- 
ly or never occur. Crimes of vio- 
lence are not unknown in Bluefields, 
but they are, as a rule, perpetrated 
by Indians and Spanish. I may men- 
tion in passing that at the present 
time there are nine murderers in 
duress, who are constantly seen 
working about the streets, guarded 
each by two soldiers. The death 
penalty does not exist in Nicaragua, 
and sentences of fifteen or twenty 
years are usually inflicted for homi- 
cides. 

There are auite a number of 
Louisianians in Bluefields, among 
them Dr. T. B. Layton, of the Marine 
Hospital Service, and Dr. Braud, of 
the State Board of Health. Dr. Lay- 
ton is one of the most delightful ac- 
quaintances one could desire to have. 
Being graduated at Tulane five years 
ago, he took service under the British 
Government and saw two years' ex- 
perience on the transports conveying 
troops to South Africa. His ad- 
ventures would occupy a profitable 
volume. He has spent some time in 
Central America, not only at Blue- 
fields, but in Honduras and Costa 
Rica. His popularity with the Amer- 
ican colony in Bluefields is deservedly 
great. Dr. Braud is from Donaldson- 
Tille, and is a capable and efficient 
official. The courtesy of these young 
men to the transient visitor is un- 
failing, and goes far to prejudice one 
in favor of the place. Other Louisi- 
anians who are prominent in Blue- 
fields are Messrs. A. V. and Joseph 
Beer, the resident managers of the 




(A 

E 

Q. 



3 
C 

o 
u 

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CA 



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-13- 



New Orleans and Central American 
Trading Company. Mr. Hulse, of the 
local steamship office, hails from L/a- 
fayette, and is a brother of Miss "Vic- 
toria Hulse, a well-known member of 
the Faculty of the New Orleans Nor- 
mal School. Solomon Weil, a well- 
known merchant, who has resided 
here for many years, comes from New 
Orleans, as does his nephew, Mr. J. 
M. Cohn. H. J. Shields, Cashier of the 
Bluefields Banana Company, is an- 
other Louisianian. J. S. Lampton, 
formerly of Bluefields, but now of 
Prinzpulca, and T. M. Solomon, for- 
merly of Bluefields, but now of 
Managua, are both Louisianians. Mr. 
Solomon has large lumber interests 
in Bluefields still, but has just parted 
with his warehouse concession here, 
returning it to the Government in 



century ago, to the hardy followers 
of the Black Flag. True, the Span- 
ish treasure ships which attracted the 
enterprise of Drake, Olonnois, Pierre 
Liegrand and other Brothers of the 
Coast, had then passed away. But a 
lucrative traffic still flourished along 
the Central American coast, and on 
this the pirates preyed. A Spanish 
lady, whom we met in Bluefields, told 
us that her great-grandfather per- 
ished while defending the ship he 
commanded from pirates, and people 
who knew the late Mr. Hudson, who 
died a few years ago in Bluefields, 
at the patriarchal age of 102, recall 
many interesting stories of the 
pirates which he used to relate as 
one having personal experience of 
them. At any rate. The Bluff, which 
as a settlement, considerably ante- 




View of Bluefields From the Governor's Palace. 



return for an equivalent of $500,000 in 
gold. Other New Orleans people now 
resident here include Messrs. Harter, 
"Wright, Ducros and Frank. 



III. 

BLUEFIELDS, Nicaragua, Aug. 
19. — The early history of 
Bluefields is lost in obscurity. 
A local tradition attributes 
the name to a pirate named 
Blewfeldt, who used to careen 
his vessels in the lagoon off 
The Bluff. Blewfeldt flour- 
ished in the age of Sir Henry Mor- 
gan, when piracy, as a fine art, at- 
tained its fullest development in the 
Caribbean. Pirates frequented the 
Spanish main down to a compara- 
tively recent period. Catalina Island, 
only a hundred miles or so from Blue- 
fields, was one of their strongholds. 
There were ample inducements, a 



dates Bluefields, is full of tales of 
buried treasures accidentally un- 
earthed. One morning, in the '30s, a 
German leaning out of his bedroom 
window, saw something shining in 
the grass of his garden. He inves- 
tigated; it proved to be the top of a 
long-interred earthenware jar full of 
Spanish doubloons. Only a few years 
ago a young American, digging in 
his garden, found a deposit of old 
pots, but they were empty — some 
luckier man had preceded him. 
There are still rumors of an in- 
scribed rock which gives a clew to 
treasures galore, but nobody is look- 
ing for it now. Bluefields cherishes 
no such wild old tales of pirate gold. 
If any buried their spoils on the 
mainland, the secret remains unre- 
vealed. 

It was in 1812 that the British 
erected forts at The Bluff and Blue- 
fields, neither of which survives. At 



—14- 



that date Bluefields was a little set- 
tlement of MosQLuitos Indians. It 
remained unchanged for sixty or 
seventy years. The Mosquitos recog- 
nized the authority of a chief to 
whom the politic English accorded 
the title of King. Whenever a new 
monarch succeeded to tlie throne, he 
was taken to Belize and there s.ol- 
emnly crowned. In a curious vol- 
ume, "Waikna," by Baird, an Ameri- 
can traveler, who visited Bluefields in 
1?55, there is a description of the Mos- 
quito settlement as it then was. An 
Englishman named Greene was nomi- 
nally acting as tutor to the heir ap- 
parent, really as the British Viceroy. 
At the end of a week Baird expressed 
a desire to see the young Prince, and 
great was his surprise when, turning 
to the barefoot waiter who served the 
matutinal coffee, Greene introduced 
this ragged servant as the future 
King. In fact the Mosquito mon- 
archy was a farce. The King was 
surrounded by a court much better 
supplied with titles than with clothes. 
A strapping native, wearing a loin- 
cloth and an old military coat, was 
the Lord Nelson Napoleon Bonaparte. 
Another who possessed a part of a 
naval uniform was known as the 
Admiral Smart. The other fea- 
tures of the monarchy were equal- 
ly ridiculous. Nicaragua en- 
croached more or less upon the 
Mosquito kingdom during the early 
part of the last century. In 1862 the 
treaty of Managua, to which the 
United States consented, assured to 
the Indians the possession of the dis- 
puted territory. But it soon became 
evident that Bluefields was essential 
to the development of the Republic. 
The imperial impulse, when once 
felt, is not _ to be confined by 
treaties, liowever numerous the 
signatories. So, in 1894, the Nicara- 
gua Government marched troops into 
the Mosquito territory, upset the 
monarchy, and formally annexed 
what had practically long been a part 
of the Republic. Since then, the In- 
dians have been induced to partici- 
pate in one or two conventions, 
where the new Government has been 
confirmed and the legitimist preten- 
sions effectually outlawed. At pres- 
ent the town is included in the dis- 
trict of Zelaya, which has a pop- 
ulation of about 4,000 souls, and is 
ruled by a Governor appointed by 
the President. General Juan Es- 
trada, the present incumbent, is a 
man of more than average ability, 
very popular with all classes of the 
population. He is a handsome man of 
stalwart physique, a fine horseman, 
and a distinguished soldier. He is af- 
fable, approachable and keenly alive 
to the interests of his people, as is 
demonstrated by the fact that Blue- 
fields is steadily improving in every 
direction. Good schools, a drain- 



age system, and a handsome 
botanical garden where a mili- 
tary band plays twice a week, are 
some of many evidences of the foster- 
ing care of a wise and progressive 
administration. There is a municipal 
organization which supplements the 
local Federal establishment, and 
which is domiciled in an attractive 
little frame building near the park. 
It works in perfect harmony with 
the Governor, and deserves a share 
of the credit for the recent improve- 
ments which have been made in the 
city. 

The population of Bluefields, the 
town, is about 2,500, representing a 
large number of nationalities. There 
are, of course, many Americans. I 
have met Canadians, English, Bel- 
gians, Germans, Australians, French, 
and Chinese. Doubtless other Euro- 
pean nationss are also represented 
more or less numerously. The bulk 
of the population is black. During 
tlie time when English influence was 
supreme, many negroes from Jamaica 
were settled in Bluefields, whose de- 
scendants continue to reside here. 
Mosquito Indians are numerous; 
Caribs, Caymen Islanders and blacks 
and half-breeds from all parts of 
Central America abound. But the 
prevailing tongue is English. The 
Nicaragua coinage is seen less fre- 
quently than American silver. In a 
handful of change one gets money 
from Hayti, Guatemala and Costa 
Rica, oftener than from Nicaragua. 
The only paper money in circulation 
is American. A good deal of con- 
fusion naturally arises from the dif- 
ferences in vaKie in the various kinds 
of circulating media, but not so 
much as might be expected. Tlie 
silver sol (dollar) is rated pretty 
uniformly at 42 cents, Ameri- 
can, and business is done on that 
basis. It is estimated that business 
aggregating from $4,500,000 to $5,000,- 
000 is annually transacted in Blue- 
fields alone. 

In fact, in proportion to its size, 
Bluefields is a very active commercial 
center. The American Consul, Mr. 
Clancy, estimates the value of 
the exports in 1904 at $1,562,853.98, 
chiefly in bananas, rubber and gold. 
The figures for 1905 will probably 
show a handsome increase. The im- 
ports last year were valued at $800,- 
000, of which probably two-thirds 
represented merchandise purchased 
in the United States, chiefly in New 
Orleans. The rest came from Europe 
by way of New York and New Or- 
leans. The entire import trade 
passes through New Orleans on its 
way to Bluefields. The Bluefields 
Steamship Company, which handle's 
traffic, is a New Orleans firm, and 
appears to be keenly alive to the 
needs of the business. The manage- 
ment appears to realize that New Or- 



-15- 



leans is the center to which the trade 
of all this region naturally con- 
verges and is doing all in its power 
to direct it thither. There are, how- 
ever, many impediments which, it is 
to be hoped, the New Orleans mer- 
chants will themselves remove, as 
they can do, if so disposed, and which 
are responsible for the fact that their 
share of the trade is not larger than 
it is. The Bluefields merchants 
roughly classify these under three 
heads, in which order I, will, for con- 
venience, discuss them here. At the 
present time New Orleans cannot 
sustain the comparison with Europe 
in respect to prices and tlie packing 
and billing of merchandise. Take 
the matter of hats. In Europe the 
package is first made up, and the 
box then built around it, in such a 
way that its contents are not crushed 



assortment in the hope of gaining 
a good customer eventually. One 
large New Orleans manufacturer of 
shoes who does an immense business 
througliout Central America made a 
success by imitating the example of 
his European rivals. Four members 
of the firm at different times have 
visited Bluefields solely with a view 
to ascertain from the local merchants 
what their needs were. It is in- 
teresting to observe tliat the lasts 
in favor in Central America differ 
markedly from those popular in the 
United States. How absurd, then, 
must it seem, for drummers to solicit 
orders in Nicaragua who carry the 
same line of samples they would take 
to Florida or Arkansas! 

A very serious factor which mili- 
tates against New Orleans in this 
trade is the indifference of our mer- 




Qroup of Natives at ''Oldbank," Bluefields. 



or damaged, and no waste space left. 
New Orleans — and the United 
States in general, for that matter — 
goes the other way about it. The 
shipment is often crushed out of 
shape in transit as a result. More- 
over, a duty is exacted at Bluefields 
on the weight of a package as a 
whole. Every unnecessary ounce of 
wood in the packing-case means that 
much additional outlay in customs. 

The European manufacturers are 
eager to make up small orders after 
a pattern furnished them by the Blue- 
fields dealer, in the hope that the 
business will grow, and larger orders 
follow. But the American manufac- 
turers are not willing to take the 
risk involved, and if they do not 
carry in stock precisely the article 
suited for the Nicaraguan trade, are 
averse to adding new styles to their 



chants to the customs regulations in 
force at Bluefields. The law re- 
quires that the bills of lading should 
be written out in a certain form 
and contain certain information not 
usual in the United States. The 
lack of it entails a fine upon the 
merchant often amounting to 10 per 
cent of the value of the goods. An 
error in the weights occasions anoth- 
er fine of equal amount. Every ar- 
ticle must be accurately described in 
certain prescribed terms, otherwise, 
further fines result. The New Orleans 
merchants are, with certain excep- 
tions, very careless in attending to 
these details. The export houses in 
New York give the subject much at- 
tention, but they do not vie with the 
European exporter whose shipments 
are accompanied invariably by pre- 
cisely the right kind of papers. Nor 



-16— 



is this all. The American merchant 
only occasionally condescends to em- 
ploy the Spanish language; the Euro- 
pean does so invariably. In Nica- 
ragua, as in fact, througlaout Latin- 
America, the greatest importance is 
attached to details even so small as 
a blot, the presence of which, on tlie 
manifest, may entail additional fines 
upon the consignee. It can be readi- 
ly imagined, then, how far the slack 
methods of New Orleans merchants 
have retarded the development of 
her trade with Nicaragua. 

Most of the merchants in Bluefields 
would prefer to deal with New Or- 
leans, that city being nearer than 
any other American port; goods 
are therefore a shorter time in 
transit, and they are, there- 
fore, under necessity of carrying 
smaller stocks. It takes four months 
to get a consignment from Europe, as 
against six days from New Or- 
Orleans. But Europe meets this with 
prices which more than make up for 
the disadvantage in time. Tlie Blue- 
fields mercliants find it cheaper in Eu- 
rope to buy underwear, hosiery, ready- 
made clotliing, fancy muslins, wines 
and liquors, not to mention embroider- 
ies, laces and other articles in which 
European supremacy is uncontested. 
New Orleans suffers from the further 
handicap that prices there, in cer- 
tain lines, compare unfavorably with 
those in St. Louis and New York. 
This, for example, specially is true 
of hardware. 

In addition to all these disadvan- 
tages. New Orleans has accumulated 
another one by ignoring the social 
side of business relations with Cen- 
tral American customers. There are 
important Bluefield merchants who 
deal largely with New Orleans 
houses who are personally unknown 
to every member of those firms, 
whose visits to New Orleans are 
ignored by them, and who never re- 
ceive tlie courtesies tliat would lead 
them to believe that any value was 
attached to the connection. The North 
and West do not make this mistake. 
Does any New Orleans merchant ad- 
vise his Bluefields correspondents 
w^hen and w^here to make advantage- 
ous purchases in view of an antici- 
pated rise in the market? Not many, 
if any. And yet there are St. Louis 
and New York merchants who think 
it well wortli tlieir while to do so. 

The most serious cliarge which is 
brought against tlie New Orleans 
merchants is that practice which 
they persist in of substituting some- 
thing else "just as good" for the 
articles ordered, w^henever it suit* 
their convenience to do so. The mer- 
chants in Bluefields complain bitterly 
of the impossibility of convincing the 
average New Orleans exporter that 
the conditions in Nicaragua are pe- 
culiar, and that merchandise must 



be sent exactly as ordered in or-. 
der to comply with the local condi- 
tions. They declare that the New 
York and St. Louis tiadesmen never 
substitute; when the article ordered 
is not in stock, they made no ship- 
ment until tliey have ascertained 
wliether something else will prove 
equally acceptable. They assert that 
the New Orleans merchant goes 
bravely ahead, pitting his conception 
of what Bluefields wants against the 
plain letter of the order, and that 
he is as likely to substitute ash hoe- 
handles where oak is ordered, or a 
No. 2 students' lamp, where a No. 1 
is ordered, as not. Obviously, such a 
state of things militates very serious- 
ly against the growth of New Or- 
leans' trade witli Bluefields. 

I have perhaps written strongly 
about these conditions. But it seems 
to me that the occasion warrants an 
energetic protest against the slack 
methods which are shutting away 
New Orleans people from their legi- 
timate share of a profitable and 
increasing business. I have not had 
the time to go into the subject as 
fully as its importance warrants, 
but the foregoing hints are sufficient, 
if heeded, to rectify many abuses, 
and reassure exasperated customers 
that New Orleans is willing to do what 
is right. Otlierwise, the trade which 
will continue to grow will fall more 
and more into the hands of New York 
and St. Louis, and to New Orleans 
Avill . remain only such part of it as 
her -geographical position assures, 
joined to the monopoly of the trans- 
portation. 



® h) 



M 



IV. 

vHMrHE impression of Nicaragua 
\ J which one gets in the course 
of a voyage along the east- 
ern coast gives little intima- 
tion of the rapid progress 
which is being made in al- 
most every line of eifort in 
the interior of the Republic. 
Superficial observers who have visited 
the country have not hesitated to 
criticise much which a closer knowl- 
edge of the facts might have proven 
well worthy of praise. This remark 
applies with special emphasis to the 
attacks on President Zelaya and his 
Administration that have from time 
to time appeared in the American news- 
papers. The writers of these un- 
fortunate screeds have proceeded on 
the assumption that whatever differed 
from the practices in vogue in the 
United States was necessarily wrong 
where it were not dishonest. But a 
little investigation shows how com- 
pletely unfounded are both of these 
ideas. Nicaragua, in spite of the 
,fact that its recorded history runs 
'back for centuries, is really a new 



—17- 



land, now for the first time being- 
exploited by capital and enterprise. 
Such a country, obviovisly, required 
the control of a strong and resource- 
ful government, which will preserve 
the peace at all hazards and, having 
done that much, will offer great in- 
ducements to foreigners to taring 
their money and energy into the Re- 
public. The means to be employed 
to effect these objects may invite 
criticism, but it will always be safe 
to assume that they are the best tliat 
could be devised to meet the emer- 
gency, and that better will be put in 
force as soon as the opportunity pre- 
sents itself. 

No one who visits the east coast 
of Nicaragua can fail to see that 
great progress has been made within 
the last few years, since President 
Zelaya came into power and estab- 
lis'hed the strong Government which 
now maintains peace throughout tlie 
country. Peace is the great desid- 
eratum. So long as it is maintained, 
the prosperity of the Republic is 
bound to increase, no matter what 
errors of administration may seem 
at times to check its steady develop- 
ment. *rf, therefore, President Ze- 
laya has done nothing else for his 
native land than to hold in check the 
forces which make for anarchy, he 
deserves well of his own people and 
merits the admiration of foreigners. 
But he has done more. He has made 
mistakes, undoubtedly — what public 
m.an has not? — ^but there are certain 
policies which he has laid down and 
partially carried out that, when all 
is said that adverse critics can say, 
will redound to the benefit of Nica- 
ragua. He is developing the coun- 
try's resources; he is building rail- 
roads; he is restoring the finances, 
and he is creating abroad a w^hole- 
pome confluence in Nicaiaguan secu- 
rities. The w^ay he has hit on to de- 
velop the resources of the country is 
to grant concessions; this method has 
been freely attacked, yet it is prob- 
ably the only means by which foreign 
capital could be induced to come to 
Nicaragua auickly and in large 
amounts; and this being the object 
which the Administration and the 
people desire ardently, the method 
must be Draised, for the results are 
being attained. It must be remem- 
bered, too, . that the concession or 
monopoly is a recognized feature of 
Latin policy, from Mexico to Cliili 
and the Argentine. The Latin Ameri- 
can statesmen turn to it instinctively. 
In the United States a different cus- 
tom and a different idea prevail ; but 
because our conceptions of economics 
are at variance with those that main- 
tain south of the Rio Grande, it does 
not necessarily follow that we arc 
right. The principle of the conces- 
sion has been successfully tested in 
many of the Central American coun- 



tries; it is regarded as a legicimate 
way of accomplishing a worthy ob- 
ject, and the impartial observer must, 
therefore, refrain from criticising 
adversely the way it is applied in 
Nicaragua. 

In fact. President Zelaya appears to 
be a man ideally suited for the diffi- - 
cult and onerous task which he has to 
perform. He has now been in power 
twelve years. The Conservative Par- 
ty has in that time made determined 
efforts to dislodge him; taut, thanks 
to the absolute authority vested in 
the hands of the Chief Executive, 
the revolutions have so far proven 
ineffectual. At the head of the op- 
position is the family of Chamorro, 
which has supplied several presi- 
dents to the Republic in times past, 
and is willing to supply more in the 
future. The Chamorros numtaer three 
or four able and resourceful men 
who were, till recently, resi- 
dents of New Orleans. but 
who aio now understood to make 
their homes in New York. Although 
they have had no experience in gov- 
ernment employ for many years past, 
they have figured at the head of a 
number of revolutionary enterprises, 
and appear to be still very important 
factors in the history of Nicaragua. 

President Zelaya is a man of fine 
education. He speaks a half-dozen 
languages rluently. He is a gnidu- 
ate of an English college. He is the 
busiest man in Nicaragua, and yet 
one of the most approachable and 
democratic. He is the Govern- 
ment. The Congress is a pliant tool 
in his hands. The ministers transact 
routine affairs, but all business of 
any importance gets its initiative 
from the Executive. Zelaya has the 
reputation of favoring foreigners 
and giving them every opportunity 
to invest capital in Nicaragua and 
develop the resources of the country. 
It is true, as I have said, that he 
grants concessions which are prac- 
tically monopolies. But, as has al- 
ready been pointed out, it is only 
by doing so tliat foreign enterprise 
can be induced to come to a virgin 
country. Moreover, these conces- 
sions are not granted gratis. An 
example in point may be cited to 
make the method of procedure plain. 
An American by the name of 
Deitrick, who is supposed to repre- 
sent Senator Clark, of Montana, has 
secured concessions for mining, stock 
raising and various agricultural en- 
terprises in the northeastern section 
of the Republic. In payment for 
these he is reauired to make large 
cash returns annually, to create a 
navigable stream of the Wanks, and 
to construct a new town and harbor 
as a substitute for the port hitherto 
known as Cape Gracias. It will be 
thus seen that in exchange for the 
monopolies that have been granted 



-18- 



Deitrick the Government profits in 
cash, but still more largely in im- 
portant public improvements which 
will not cost the Administration a 
cent. 

A very important concession which 
has recently been granted to Ameri- 
cans is held by Messrs. Forbes and 
Woodruff, who will build a large dy- 



ing the ore to the coast, in view ol 
the difficult, dangerous and uncer- 
tain route down the Wanks and the 
Princzapolca Rivers, which is now in 
use. 

Messrs. Forbes and Woodruff are 
also associated in other important 
enterprises, of w^hich the most inter- 
esting is a concession for the impor- 




PRESIDENT J. S. ZELAYA OF NICARAGUA. 



namite factory and construct a rail- 
road inland from Princzapolca, on the 
Carribbean. The innportant gold 
mines in the northeastern sec- 
tion of the Republic promise an im- 
portant field for the sale of explo- 
sives, and the railroad will be of ma- 
terial benefit to the same section, af- 
fording a convenient means of bring- 



tation of Chinese. The Government has 
allowed them the exclusive right of 
bringing coolies to Nicaragua for a 
term of years. Ten thousand of them 
will be brought into a state of practi- 
cal serfdom, their services being let 
to coffee planters in _different parts 
of the Republic as occasion may re- 
quire. This amounts to a labor trust 



—19— 



in a sense, but mark how the Gov- 
ernment reaps an advantage from 
this seeming disregard of fundamen- 
tal economic laws. Not only will the 
coffee business benefit from the pres- 
ence of reliable and readily-obtaina- 
ble labor, but the concessionaires arc 
obligated to pay the Government a per 



struction of a wharf at Corinto, on 
the Pacific coast. The same Com- 
pany has already acquired extended 
interests in the interior. It runs the 
ice plant, the laundry and the electric 
lighting"" in Managua, and has lately 
acquired a ranch forty miles wide and 
eighty miles long, on which deposits 




MRS. ZELAYA. 



capita tax in gold as each Celestial 
arrives in the country. 

It would be possible to continue at 
very considerable length describing 
the various enterprises which owe 
their existence to the President's en- 
lightened, progressive policy. For ex- 
ample, the Central American Com- 
mercial Company has begun the con- 



of salt and lime have already been 
discovered. Of course, in the prose- 
cution of so many and so varied 
undertakings, this Company, of itself, 
has embarked immense sums of 
money in the development of fields 
which would otherwise remain vir- 
gin. But the Government is by no 
means conveying valuable fran- 



—20— 



chises to foreigners indiscriminately, 
nor does it relinquisli a certain super- 
vision over tl:iem subsequent to part- 
ing witli tliem. Tliis fact is well 
illustrated in the case of the same 
Company, "which, in the last few 
months, farmed the municipal cus- 
toms at ' Blueflelds. The concession 
resulted in the erection of a wharf 
and warehouse, but the Government, 
keeping in vie"w the interests and the 
desire of the local merchants, has re- 
cently canceled this concession and 
purchased the farmership of the cus- 
toms which it w^ill henceforward ad- 
minister on its own account. It is 
true that, in bringing about this 
change at Blueflelds an increase in 
the customs has been found neces- 
sary, and that much discontent ex- 
ists regarding these extra burdens on 
the commerce of the port. The point, 
ho"wever, is, that the Government 
keeps in touch with the popular de- 
mands, and seems endeavoring to the 
best of its faculties to meet their 
requirements. The retrocession of the 
wharf concession is a step in the 
riglit direction, and it seems proba- 
ble that as soon as circumstances 
permit the increased charges on Im- 
ports at Blueflelds will be reduced. 

It must be a captious critic 
indeed who, having any knowl- 
edge of the peculiar condi- 
tions with wliich President Ze- 
laya has to contend, will not com- 
mend his policy as shown in tlie in- 
stances I have cited. Americans, how- 
ever, will find it more difficult to 
understand how an enlightened ex- 
ecutive can further his own interests 
while keeping in view the welfare 
of his own people. This, however, is 
a matter of tradition and custom. 
Every nation has its own peculiari- 
ties. Some of our practices would 
no doubt seem equally strange to 
a Nicaraguan investigator. President 
Zelaya's predecessors have followed 
this course in a brutally selfish man- 
ner, but the morality of it has not 
been criticised. Zelaya's merit is 
that while he keeps for himself u 
share in many reniunerative conces- 
sions, they all - benefit the country 
more than they benefit himself. He 
was a wealthy ' man when he 
went into office. To-day his 
private fortune is estimated at $1,- 
000,000 in gold. His wealth is bound 
to increase rapidly, as his multitudi- 
nous interests mature, and none of 
these promise to be more remunera- 
tive than his shares in the railroad 
from San Ubaldo eastward to Monkey 
Point. 

There is already in existence a rail- 
road from Corinto, on the Pacific, to 
Managua. Formerly this property was 
administered by the Government di- 
rectly. The graft, however, was too 
good. Everybody was getting rich 
at the expense of the railroad and 
the Government. It did not take 



Zelaya long to see what was up. He 
took steps at once to cure the eviJ. 
He made a contract with the Nica- 
ragua Government Railroad and 
Steamship Company to take over the 
road, the Government to receive a 
stipulated sum monthly. This ar- 
rangement has worked extremely 
_well. The Government has made 
money and a hitherto unprofitable 
enterprise is now paying handsomely. 
The management is in the hands of 
a German by the name of Wiest, a 
capable administrator and particu- 
larly useful because of the fidelity 
with which he keeps in view the in- 
terests of the Government. Wiest is 
also charged with the construction 
of the new road from San Ubaldo, on 
Lake Nicaragua, to the Caribbean, 
and when this line is finished his 
concession will apply to it equally 
with the Pacific road. The enter- 
prise is particularly interesting, not 
only for the fact that the President 
does not find it inconsistent to re- 
tain an interest in it, but because it 
signalizes the definite abandonment 
of any hope of the construction of 
the Nicaragua Canal. The railroad 
is Zelaya's alternative. If he can- 
not have the ■ canal he will con- 
nect the Atlantic and the Pacific 
by rail. He is sufficiently a states- 
man to see that he gains thereby for 
his country practically all the ad- 
vantages that might have accrued 
from the canal. 

It is interesting to observe in pass- 
ing that the Government retains 
control of the telegraph and tele- 
phone systems throughout the coun- 
try. The reason for this is immedi- 
ately apparent. The Government is 
practically in a state of siege at all 
times. It must be prepared at any 
moment to deal effectively with re- 
bellion. The control of the media 
of communication is one of the most 
effectual means to this end. But 
here again the President's states- 
manlike knack of joining the im- 
mediately, necessary military course 
of action with that which makes for 
the general welfare of the people of 
the Republic asserts itself. The 
telegraph and telephone are ac- 
cessible to everybody in times of 
peace. Telephones cost about a dol- 
lar and a half a month. Long-dis- 
tance connection is about 5 cents 
extra per call. The telegraph rates 
are equally low. Both are extensive- 
ly patronized. They extend to all 
the large towjn and the service is 
excellent. In times of war these con- 
ditions are subject to modification; 
but under Zelaya's patriotic regime 
times of war are growing less fre- 
quent and a great deal shorter when 
they do occur. 

The Government, in the last analy- 

/ sis, owes its existence to the Army. 

Zelaya came into power as the result 

of a revolution which defeated the 



-21- 



eonservative Party that had, for 
thirty years, monopolized tlie Gov- 
ernment. There are no issues on 
whicli the parties divide except tlie 
actual possession of power. Politics 
simply mean the struggles of the 
"outs" to get "in." That is to say, 
the control of the Army is the key 
to the situation. So long as Zelaya 
controls the forces he ^vill probably 
continue at the head of affairs. The 
Nicaraguan Army is a very interest- 
ing, not to say instructive, institution. 
But it would be a decided mistake to 
conclude that it cannot flght and 
fight hard. Military service is uni- 
versal. The names of citizens are 
drawn quarterly. Those who can 
afford to pay a fine, the amount of 
which is proportioned to their re- 
sources, in this way avoid military 
service, taut the conscription is rig- 



$55 American), considered a very de- 
sirable income. The soldiers are 
uniformed in red trousers and blue 
jumpers of the cheapest mr|terial. 
They bear a certain family resem- 
blance to the familiar monkey on 
the New Orleans hand-organ. But 
they make very good soldiers in spite 
Of that. In times of war the "Gov- 
ernment "recruits" in a way of its 
own. A sufficient force of soldiers and 
police will surround a tlieatre, raid 
tlie pit, and march tlie spectators off 
to the scene of hostilities. Or, some 
afternoon when the Dark is full of 
idlers and pleasure-seekers, the mil- 
itary drag net descends and th£ ^rmy 
is suddenly augmented by some hun- 
dred "volunteers." 

But the Army gets its pay regu- 
larly every evening, and it is loyal 
to the master that feeds it. This 



■' ''^,i^Yf,^ ''^ 




Residence of the President of Nicaragua, flanagua. 



orously enforced everywhere else. 
Tlie lower grades of commissioned 
officers are recruited in the same way, 
or promoted from tlie ranks as a le- 
ward for service or capacity. It 
strikes one as aueer to find a lieu- 
tenant in the Army working as a 
lamp trimmer in the Capital, or fol- 
lowing some other equally obscure 
position in this land of curious con- 
trasts. The higher officers are gen- 
erally in the Government employ. 
A chief of police is likely to be a 
colonel at least. A minister is almost 
invariably a general. The private 
soldier receives 50 cents a day in Nic- 
araguan currency, which is now 
worth in American money about one- 
sixth of its face value. Out of this 
he must procure his food and sup- 
port his family, if he has one. This 
can be done in a land where a square 
meal is purchasable for 5 cents in 
the native currency. The officers 
are better paid. A brigadier general 
will get about $400 a month (about 



principle of good pay is one which 
accounts for much of Zelaya's suc- 
cess. He looks out for his friends. 
His supporters get good jobs and op- 
portunities to invest their savings 
where they will do the most good. 

The most remarkable recent inci- 
dent in wliich President Zelaya has 
figured is one regarding which there 
must necessarily be a diversity of 
opinion. In decreeing thtit the 
clergy should no longer wear in 
the streets a distinctive garb, the 
Government manifested a hostility 
to the Catholic Church which has in- 
vited some criticism. The priests re- 
fused almost unanimously to obey the 
law, and were obliged to leave the 
country. But, obviously, it was impos- 
sible to deprive a population, largely 
Catholic, of its spiritual leaders, and 
recently a number of the exiles have 
returned to the country, subscribing 
to the conditions under which their 
presence is tolerated. It may be 
frankly said that the Government is 



—22- 



free-thinking rather than religious. 
In fact, the Church is supported by 
the women of the Reriublic rather 
than the men. It will be readily seen 
that this latent spirit of hostility to 
the Church, however developed, would 
be liable to express itself harshly if a 
good pretext could be found. Unfortu- 
nately, the Church is supposed to fa- 
vor the Conservative Party, and, un- 
der a Liberal regime, has had to pay 
the penalty of this alleged political 
affiliation. The outcome of the move- 
ment against the Church in Nica- 
ragua cannot be guessed at present, 
but is bound to be imDortant and, 
perhaps, momentous. 

But, in the main. President Zelaya, 
then, is giving Nicaragua what it 
needs — • a strong, stable govern- 
ment. He has in him something 
of Diaz, just as Diaz has in him 
something of Napoleon. Both of 
them are typical Latin American 
statesmen. They differ in ideals and 
methods from us, but they have this 
aim in common — the creation of a 
prosperous and Deaceful country. 
Zelaya's financial policy is wisely 



adapted to this end. He is meeting 
the payments on the national debt 
promptly and in full. The need for 
the money to make these payments is 
probably the reason why he has 
granted so many concessions, but the 
better reputation of Nicaragua among 
the nations would seem to justify 
even more radical riiethods. How 
Icng can he keep control? Can he 
carry out his olans uninterruDted by 
his opDonents? Probably as long as 
he remains on the scene, no success- 
ful effort will be made to oust him 
from power, but his death in the next 
few years would most likely precipi- 
tate civil war. 

The interests of the United States 
are not sufficiently imDortant as yet 
to justify intervention in the case of 
ren,ewed internal dissensions. It is, 
therefore, greatly to be hoped that 
the present Executive will survive for 
many years to consolidate the policies 
lie has so vigorously initiated, and 
to round out a remarkable career 
fraught with many important 
achievements for the benefit of his 
native land. 




